Athletics stars Gay and Defar take top IAAF awards
AFP - November 25, 2007

Tyson Gay and Meseret Defar

World champion sprinter Tyson Gay of the United States and Ethiopian middle-distance starlet Meseret Defar were on Sunday named by athletics' world governing body, the IAAF, as the top athletes of 2007 ...

Defar, the 23-year-old reigning Olympic champion over 5,000 metres, has been in startling form on the track, winning all her races this season and setting two world records and a world best.

She set world records of 14:16.63 for the 5000m at the Bislett Games in Oslo in June, and 8:23.72 for the indoor 3000m in Stuttgart in February.

In May, she also ran two miles, a distance not recognised by the International Olympic Committee, at Carson in a world record time of 9:10.47.

Defar, who won 5000m gold at the Osaka World Championships, said: "This is very special for me. This is very special for Ethiopian women.

"Those who struggle very hard and who don't have very many opportunities to achieve the highest levels of athletics. So I dedicate this award to them" ...